back to the normality...

It's been a lovely two weeks at home since returning from our overseas trip and most of that time has been spent relaxing and spending time with our furry new addition. He is growing by the day and has such a sweet personality though Coffee may dispute that. Today we are going to our first puppy class so fingers crossed we don't get a detention.
Normal routines are back in place and tomorrow the ultimate routine known as work commences, sadly.
This week I got to catch up with crafty friends, it seems so long since I have had a crafty get together.
Lots of laughs and even some stitching was done over lunch and cups of tea and some sweets.
Clamshells are coming together nicely and I have another row of blocks basted that can be added once they are sewn.
loving the scrappiness of them.

 I managed to finish this crocheted cushion cover last night which I have been working on for a little bit. The squares are made from all the leftover wool from the blankets I have made.
I have another 64 squares nearly ready to put together into a small throw, but then again it may just grow some more if the mood takes me. They are very enjoyable to make and not too taxing.
the cushion will be gifted to a friend.....

well that's the catch up from here....
hope there is lots of crafting happening at your place.
cheers for now
Marina

pardon my absence...

Time seems to fly by at the moment and my poor blog has been sorely neglected.but I do have a good excuse....
for the past 3 1/2 weeks we have been travelling through parts of Europe with our eldest son who has been living in the UK. We had a wonderful time visiting with relatives and friends that I haven't seen for many many years..
I won't bore you with all the photos of my trip as there are so many. We got to go to the Colosseum, Roman ruins, magnificent churches in Switzerland and Austria and even went on a sound of music tour in Salsburg which was great fun.
It seems like a dream now that we are home.
......and yes I did visit two patchwork shops. I had Den Haan and Wangenmakers on my list to visit in Amsterdam and it was a lovely shop and there was another shop right next door which I would've walked straight past if not for no 1 son. Some little souvenir purchases were made, I was very well behaved (because I had spent up at the blue delft shop!)
A big highlight was also the opportunity to meet a bloggy friend Els in the Netherlands. We first corresponded after doing a swap  a long time ago. Els and her husband were very hospitable and showed us wonderful dutch hospitality and the glorious dutch countryside. It was an amazing day!

 

me and Els at the Royal summer palace.

As you know I had stocked up on clamshells as my travelling project, well no go on the plane they wouldn't allow the needle at all so I had to save it for the many train trips we did to get to the different cities we stayed at. I did managed to baste them all and make a start on piecing two blocks.

Since coming home I have sewn another few blocks together. It's lovely to be able to sit and sew again.

clamshell progress

just to share.... here is mum's baltimore quilt that we did the class together for. She added three more blocks and has appliqued sashings and has almost finished her outer borders which are so beautifully appliqued.

Another reason for lack of time has been the arrival of furry little paws at our house.
We picked up our new curly boy on Wednesday..... His name is Billy.
He is such a sweet pup but I know there will be some naughtiness in store as his eyes give it away.
He settled in really well with thanks to poor Coffee who has to endure his naughtiness more than we do.
A lot of time gets spent with looking after this baby and there will be many more hours to be spent in training and teaching him to be a well behaved boy. All part of the fun!

I'll slowly catch up with blogs and see what everyone has been up to...
Till then
cheers
Marina

puppy loving and knit purl knit

Last weekend was an action packed one...

Saturday spent with Elyte and Susan from Thimblestitch who was down from NSW.

It was lovely to catch up face to face with Susan as it has been two years since we last got together.

We exchanged small gifts.....

I made Susan a little zipper pouch with her favourite animal on it and Susan gifted me the most gorgeous mini hexie pin cushion. Needless to say it went straight to the sewing room!

some click clacking has been happening at the moment. I made two hats this week bringing the total to 5.

(one green one is missing from the photo)

 Sunday was another exciting day when we went to visit a Curly breeder to look into possible getting another furry friend.
The babies are only four weeks old at the moment so we have some time to decide whether to commit or not.
Twelve of these little babies greeted us.

It's hard to be impartial when you get to have a cuddle with these cuties.

I have some soul searching to do, it will be a big commitment. Wish Coffee could say whether he wants a companion or not? Another visit in a few weeks should decide.

have a great week

Marina

dabbling with some blues..

I have been thinking about a project that might use some of my blue stash, a project that can be picked up whenever and worked on and that can wait happily for when the mood strikes. No pressure sewing just how I like it.

These baskets were an internet trend project a few years ago and you know me I eventually catch up with the band wagon once it has come and gone.

They will be a handy little project.

I have prepared a dozen blocks so far.

 I want to alternate the basket blocks with a nine patch block so had to cut one to see how it would look.
I do like it but annoyingly my 9 patch ended up a 1/4 inch smaller than my basket background block.
I cut the backgrounds 6 1/2 inch and the 9 patch blocks use 2 1/2 inch blocks. Might need to check out my 1/4 inch seam. It seems I'm off to a false start already.

I have been playing around with some zipper pouches too. The finished one can't be shown at the moment but I thought it would be good to make a couple more to reinforce the method of making them.
I am not using a pattern so it grows as I go along.
Love this little applique and seeing that I don't need another pincushion thought it might make a nice applique for the pouch.

I have been having a bit of a knitting phase at the moment and made myself a slouch beanie. When a work friend admired it I offered to make her one ( I now have to make one for the other two girls at work too-new office uniform?) As a thankyou I found this on my desk one morning-some goodies to add to my travel kit. So lovely and so thoughtful.

Well I've made it to hump day....
Can it be friday tomorrow? Pleeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaase?
Have a great rest of the week...
cheers
marina

hellooooooooo....

Hello, anybody out there...
Blogging mojo hasn't been too evident lately but a day out with the city girls today has sparked a few flat batteries. A day of fun and frivolity with some wonderful girls.....Elyte, Robyn, Anne, Annie and Jo... spent at the craft and quilt show at Jeff's shed. It started off with brunch and ended at 4.30 when the show was closing. Talk about the last to leave!
I had such a wonderful day.... looking at beautiful shops, amazing quilts and throw in some retail therapy and good company and the day was perfect.
even though I didn't have any fabric needs I managed to bag myself a bargain from the Gail B stand.
I absolutely loved this fabric range when it was released and was always disappointed I never bought any but at $4 a fat quarter it was too good to pass up.

 these lovely fabrics were a gift from Elyte.... so different for me as are the ones above but it's good to step outside your comfort zone.... the ruler was a gift from Robyn. We all scored one of them, they are a fantastic idea for tracing circles for applique. Those little ones are so not happening!

Some Caswell blocks have been completed in the past few weeks too.
I do like this little bird.......the flowers were quite fun too.

 love this one but the right flower took some work, I think I undid the large dark petals about 4 times.
got there in the end...

this mini has been waiting some time to be quilted and I finally co ordinated wadding and backing and sent it off to Fiona of Bubz rugz who has worked her magic touch and quilted it beautifully. I haven't had much luck showing the quilting but take it from me it is amazing! so much detail in each layer! Had to get it bound and hanging asap.

Love love love it.

I've been preparing clamshells for a travelling project. 318 so far all cut out ready to baste. Some more will be added tonight from my lovely gifted fabrics.

had to share two favourites from the quilt show today...
Don't need to explain why, you'll so get it.
so much detail in this beauty.

 this Caswell was stunning and I am very interested in the outer border idea...

Well that's all caught up with what's going on here.
Thanks for making it to the end.
Thanks for good friends and good times.
We should never miss a chance to make happy memories, they carry us through the difficult times.
Cheers
Marina

all good things...

....must come to an end.
two weeks of holiday bliss have come to their inevitable end. Batteries are recharged and ready to take on tomorrow!
The sewing time has been wonderful and a few more blocks have been added to the pile of Caswell Blocks.

this block was a real test of patience and skills. After sweating over the little saw teeth on the leaves I had to add the centre vein which seems to have caused some puckering. It will do for now though it may get some tweaking later on.

 this is the block I currently have under construction.... Quite happy with the bird, just need to find the right fabric for the eye....

Two weeks have just flown so back to normal programming from now on. Wonder how miss Maisie will cope without the company. She has enjoyed having some extra people time.

Hope you all have a great week!
cheers
Marina

latest Caswell and a spot of reading

thought I would update with the latest Caswell block so I don't have photo overload like last post.

I forgot to include a completed block last post and there is also a new block to show and tell.

latest finish...

Had a lovely day with the city girls at craft group. Seems like ages since we have gotten together....

Some more socialising planned for this week. Gotta get as much fun as I can in before it's back to the grind.

Picked up this book at Big W.... I've only just started it but I thought it was going to be funnier but we'll see how it goes. Putting my new book mark into some use too.

 Beautiful sunny day here in Melbourne with a slight breeze..... perfect for the line full of clothes to get dried by.
why is it that when you are home the washing seems to never end but when I'm at work it seems to slowly accumulate for the weekend? hmmm seems the washing, cleaning and tidying fairies are taking a break too?
Hope your weekend has been a good one.
cheers
Marina.
....back with another Caswell soon.

loooooots of photos..

Time is flying by and my poor neglected blog has seen little attention. I have been visiting here and there to see what everyone has been up to, sometimes commenting and sometimes not.
Seems like I have just lost my blogging mojo......
Facebook is a little to blame. It has been a wonderful way to keep up with no 1 son who is exploring the world and it seems to give instant gratification too, with a simple like, little commitment and eye candy by the truck loads. not to mention cute animal videos.
I thought I just had to share a most gorgeous squishy parcel that arrived in my mail from a wonderful and talented lady who I wouldn't have met had it not been for blogging so I fired up the computer and here we are...
Now I will warn you that there are going to be lots of pics as I bring you all up to speed with the crafting craziness that has been occupying my time.
Firstly the squishy!
an exquisite glasses case/purse and immaculately stitched book mark from Fiona (bubzrugz) I was gobsmacked... thankyou so much Fiona XX

Had to share two new finishes from Mum.... She completed these beautiful quilt tops last week, they were hanging over her head for a bit and were a hurdle to getting her back to her baltimore. Unfortunately the photos don't do them justice as there is so much detail, especially in the fairies one.

There has been lots of crochet with a rainbow ripple blanket done and having pride of place as my header.
Now where has Caswell been during this blogging absence....never far from my hands....
Here we go ...
firstly this probably has to be my favourite block. I love the birds and am pretty chuffed that I managed all those little pieces interweaving with each other as you pretty well have to work out the order yourself from the pattern sheets.
oops pardon the threads..

 this one hot off the needle last night.

I must say that I am really loving these blocks.....12 done 18 to go.
If you're still with me, thanks for sticking through all that. don't know when my next post will be but you are all caught up for now.
Hope all is well in your world
Cheers
Marina

caswell catch up...

I have been happily working on my Caswell blocks.
the first row is complete and a start made on the second. It's so exciting progressing on these blocks.
blocks A1 to A4 (A4 gave me some grief trying to get those pink flowers on and those bottom leaves..... don't even go there! Got there mostly in the end)

 A5

 B1

I have jumped B2 for now as I couldn't wait to get to this one with it's sweet little birds.
The applique is a little more complicated on this one and I need to think hard about the placement of some pieces.

With all this Caswell enthusiasm I was feeling a little guilty about some flimsies.
It's all good well to make tops but eventually you have to quilt them!
Thought it would be good to mix my applique in with some hand quilting.
unfortunately i need to get a new marking pen as mine struggled a bit on the wreath but I have at least made a start......

Hope you have enjoyed my little catch up!
cheers for now
Marina
Happy stitching

Is it too soon.....

.......for me to share some more blocks from the Caswell quilt.....?
this is block 2

 block 3

 here are some more applique papers prepared and ready....

 here's the first applique block for my Hopscotch quilt. lovely and fresh..

Lots of happy sewing days have been on the agenda..... Last sunday was spent with the city girls catching up with Shez and some of the other usual suspects like Barb, Cheryl and new friend Karen and of course a contingent of the Gisborne girls. What a wonderful day!

Today I had a lovely day sewing with Liz, Rosalie, Karin and Mum. We had a lovely day chatting and laughing but there was also some stitching. I worked on the second hopscotch block and fixing up some reverse sewing required on the no 2 Caswell block. Couldn't work out why the two red flowers didn't look quite right then  realised I had sewn the centres back to front!  so off they came and they look much better now, as in the pic.
Another sewing day tomorrow with the city girls and a special visitor....
More of that next post. Looking forward to a last catch up before it's back to routine next week....
But I'm sure all this  happiness will keep me going for a while!
Hope some happy sewing is happening your way....
Cheers
Marina